Bird banders help ecosystem health in Montana

“Most folks are familiar with birds,” University of Montana Ecology Lab Avian Biologist Rebekkah LaBlue said. “They exist on all seven continents. And whether we consciously realize it or not, most people see a bird every day.”

This summer, the bird banders hailing from a wide range of places themselves landed in Montana doing research work for the UM Bird Ecology Lab (UMBEL). The organization specializes in bird monitoring and public education efforts by using different songbird banding stations spread out over the area.

Bird banding involves catching birds and placing a unique bracelet with a number on their leg to track their movement and life history. During the peak breeding season, UMBEL typically catches between 50 and 100 birds each week. This high level of activity is due to an increase in the number of young birds.

The fieldwork involves using mist nets, a common method in bird banding, to capture and gather data on birds. Each bird is then banded, measured, weighed and documented for sex and age before being released.

The whole process often takes less than five minutes.

“We’re surrounded by birds at all times. So we’re really lucky that way,” said Megan Fylling, avian ecologist and director at the University of Montana Bird Ecology Lab.

The process of bird banding has been tweaked and improved over time and is not harmful to birds, LaBlue said. The research teams are required to have federal, state and university permits to do the work that they do.

“Everyone is extensively trained and we have to have permits to prove that people are trained to do this,” LaBlue added. “We make sure that we have people that have tons of experience always around to make sure that everyone is trained up to the extent that they need to be.”

The Rock Creek Confluence property hosts a bird banding site focused on the Clark Fork River, a site affected by historical mining activities. This lab’s current focus is on understanding the health of bird populations in this area, which is influenced by its past as a Superfund site.